Total Recall Rebooted
by The Pootamis
Summary: What if things ended up differently? Just a mere simple choice that could have changed the whole movie? This is that choice.
1. Chapter 1

This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't be real. Words that have been echoing throughout his mind as he raced across the city. Words that have not eased the tension he is feeling ever since leaving that place.

A place where one's fantasies could come true. Whether it was being a major sports or movie star for a short period of time with millions of fans cheering his name to even being a spy. A situation that he now finds himself in.

The situation where his fantasy had come to life. He had been told that he indeed was a spy. A statement that only confused him deeply before his emotions went into overdrive when a team of officers barged into the place laying waste to the men and women in charge of the fantasy.

But that was only when his fear had just begun. When his fear kicked into overdrive when suddenly out of instinct he had killed every single man inside of the room within seconds. A memory that has only made his heart beat skyrocket as he races up towards his apartment.

Without breaking his stride as he quickly unlocks his apartment to find Lori sitting on their bed with her cell phone in her hand without any hesitation as he closes the door behind himself quickly Doug reapplies the locks before slowly he starts to pace through the apartment with his eyes glued to the floor unaware that Lori is quickly making her way towards him with a look of concern riddled across her face.

Snapping out of his thoughts as he sees Lori approaching him without any hesitation Doug closes the gap between them before he pulls her into a tight embrace that he feels her returning in full.

" Lori? Thank god you're here."

" Of Course i'm here. I've been going out of my mind. Where have you been?"

With only sear panic surging back through his mind as he breaks off the embrace quickly Doug makes his way across the apartment as Lori watches him carefully before slowly as he slips a curtain slightly to the side Doug quickly glances around outside.

" Look something bad is happening."

" I know, I know. I just got the call. We've been put on stand by."

" No you don't understand."

" What?"

Turning away from the window as he turns to look at the television screen to see a headline that makes his eyes go as wide as saucers releasing the curtain slowly Doug makes his way into the living room as he stares at the screen unaware that Lori is looking towards him with a concerned look across her face.

" Doug?"

" Oh my god."

" Doug are you okay?"

Gently reaching out as she lays her hand on his shoulder Lori watches as Doug shakes his head as he continues to stare at the television screen.

" Lori it wasn't the resistance that killed those sentries. It wasn't the terrorists. It was me."

" What was you?"

" Lori i'm the one who killed them."

" You? You killed 20 armed men?"

" No it was more like 10."

" But you killed them? With what honey you're book?"

" Lori i'm serious."

Suddenly as she sees Doug turning in her direction to grab her shoulders in a sudden motion Lori jerks his hands off of her as she takes a step back.

" Doug you're scaring him."

" I'm sorry. This is gonna seem crazy okay? I went to Recall after work and…."

" What!? What did they do to you?"

" Nothing. I sat in the chair and they hooked me up but before they could do anything the police burst in. They tried to take me. I just reacted. I….I killed them."

Shaking her head as she reaches out and gently cups his face in her hands leaning out Lori gently rests her forehead against Doug's own.

" No listen. You didn't kill anyone."

" Trust me. I killed them."

" No sweetie. Don't you see? Whatever you think you did had nothing to do with any of this. Those assholes screwed with your mind and now you are having some kind of paranoid delusion. That place is really dangerous. And whatever it is we'll get through it."

As he feels Lori wrapping her arms around him bringing him into an embrace slowly Doug can't help but return the embrace as he buries his face in her neck.

" It happened so fast…."

" Shhh….it's okay…."

" I would never…."

" I know Doug. I know. Everything will be okay."

Feeling all of the tension leaving his body as he relaxes into Lori's embrace slowly Doug closes his eyes before suddenly as he feels Lori's grip tightening by the second Doug opens his eyes.

" I….can't….breathe…."

Reaching up as he tries to break Lori's grip to no prevail in a sudden motion with a burst of energy Doug charges forward holding onto Lori tightly before mere seconds as he slams her back first into a window the sound of the glass starting to shattering with a sickening crunch echoes throughout the apartment.

Spinning around as he follows up by slamming her into a nearby wall completely shattering a bookshelf that layed high above without having any time to react Doug feels Lori landing a well placed backhanded strike across his face before a split second later he jerks his head to the side nearly avoiding another strike.

" Lori!? What the hell are you doing!?"

Ignoring his words as she continues to send strike after strike in his direction that hits nothing but air suddenly as she sees him going on the defensive reaching out Lori blocks an incoming flurry of strikes as she counters his moves before suddenly she stops to look at him when she feels him catching her arm.

Suddenly without giving him a chance to react as she catapults herself off the shelf into a back flip to only feel his grip loosening right as she lands on her feet using all of her strength Lori flips Doug off to the side in the direction of their bed to see him fall straight into the middle of their bed.

Racing over as she slides across the ground to only kneel over him without giving him anytime to react rearing back Lori sends right hook after hook into Doug's face before suddenly as she feels her hand being caught in a sudden motion Lori feels herself being sent flying off the bed to the side.

Rearing back just as she lands on the side of the bed rearing back Lori sends a vicious kick in Doug's direction to only feel him catching her foot in mid air before suddenly as she is sent upwards Lori feels her back smashing against an overhead window causing glass to land down upon her as she lands down on the bed.

Shaking the cobwebs in a sudden move as she snaps her body around to send both of her feet into Doug's chest sending him flying off the bed and onto the hard ground with a thud a couple of feet away leaping to the side Lori reaches into a nearby bag grabbing a hold of a hidden handgun from within before a split second later as she sees Doug scrambling to the side Lori unleashes a round that nearly misses as it strikes against the far end wall.

Keeping her aim focus as she sends a few more round at Doug to see the rounds only hitting nearby walls as he scrambles away in the direction of the kitchen slowly Lori gets up to her feet before suddenly she comes to a stop when she sees the lights going out engulfing the apartment in darkness other than the small light coming from the windows.

" Lori!? God damn it! What are you doing!?"

" My job."

" Are you crazy!"

" Am i crazy? That's a good one Doug. Considering you don't know who the hell you are. Do you really believe that a factory worker can take out an entire room of highly trained men?"

Listening closely as he hears the sound of silent footsteps quietly making their way towards him being as quiet as possible Doug leans off the wall before slowly he disappears further into the kitchen before mere seconds later Lori appears in front of the kitchen with her handgun raised up.

Glancing around her surroundings as she sees Doug nowhere in sight without lowering her gun slowly Lori takes a few steps forward to take a closer look around before suddenly as she hears movement coming from her side without having anytime to react as she turns her head Lori suddenly feels her arm being roughly grabbed.

Without giving her anytime to react as he twists the gun out of her hand in a sudden motion Doug snatches the gun out of her hand as he wraps his free arm around her neck before slowly as he feels her grabbing his arm Doug raises the gun up towards her head.

" Tell me what is going on?"

As he feels her trying desperately to break free slowly Doug tightens his hold around her as he watches Lori briefly close her eyes.

" Talk! Or we can skip until death do us apart!"

" I'm not your wife."

" That's complete bullshit. We've been married for 7 years."

" I'm UFB police intel assigned to play your wife. 6 weeks ago i didn't even know you."

With his confusion only growing by the second in a swift motion Doug releases Lori allowing her to scramble a few feet away before slowly he locks eyes with her as his aim remains on her head.

" What are you talking about?"

" It's true. Your memory was replaced. Your mind was implanted with the life you think that you lived. You keeping up baby? There is no Douglas Quaid. There never was."

" This….this aint real. Our marriage?"

" What can i say i'm a good wife. Come on. Deep down did you really believe that someone like me would marry someone like you and live in this shithole?"

" If i'm not me then who the hell am i?"

" How would i know? I just work here."

" Speculate."

" If i had to guess. With all of the trouble Cohaagen had done to hide you from the resistance you must be fairly important. And with your skill set it's highly doubtful that your his gardner."

" Cohaagen? Resistance? I don't….I don't work for the resistance. I'm not like them. I'm not a murder."

" Are you sure? You said so yourself that you killed 10 highly armed men with nothing more than your bare hands. Men that i mind you work for the UFB."

" I didn't know….it just happened. I didn't…."

" Deep down inside you know that i'm right…."

" No! I'm not a murder. I'm not…."

" Then prove it. Prove it to me."

Staring directly into her eyes for the next few seconds Doug stares at Lori in silence listening in to her taking deep breathes before slowly he starts to lower the gun down.

" Will you help me?"

Glancing down as she sees Doug slowly extending the gun out towards her with the barrel facing away from her slowly Lori nods her head before she reaches out and gently takes the gun out of his hand.

" Turn around and place your hands over your head."

Raising up the gun slightly as she sees Doug obeying her orders without lowering her aim slowly Lori makes her way back over towards their bed to only mere seconds later retrieve a pair of handcuffs from her bag before slowly as she returns to Doug's side reaching up Lori gently grabs a hold of his hands and starts to apply the handcuffs.

" For what it's worth. You're doing the right thing."

* * *

Without putting up the slightest of resistance as he feels himself being gently lead through the apartment complex to the outside world by Lori just as he takes a step outside Doug's eyes widen slightly as he looks through the crowd of passing civilians to see police officers staring directly in their direction.

Human officers that are staring at him with their hands ready at their firearms just waiting for the wrong move on his part while the faceless synthetic officers stare at him awaiting orders from their superiors.

A sight that only makes a wave of shock run through his body as he stares out at each and everyone of them before suddenly he is brought out of his thoughts when he feels the slightest of nudges by Lori to continue forward.

A request that he obeys as he feels himself being steered through the crowd towards a small group of officers standing by a small stand just inside of the market place a couple of rows down.

Mere seconds later as he feels Lori coming to a stop Doug comes to a halt before slowly as he feels Lori gently moving her hand to rest on his arm glancing to his side Doug sees Lori staring directly at a synthetic officer.

" I have secured the target and will bring him directly to Cohaagen myself. Make sure that he knows that we are on our way."

Glancing at the synthetic's helmet as he sees it's visor turning blue with his interest only peaking with a nudge on his arm slowly Doug follows after Lori as he feels her holding his arm with a tight grip.

" How…."

" They can broadcast and deliver any messages through our network. It's how they are able to follow any orders given even if their commanding officer isn't within miles."

Suddenly as the sound of a phone going off echoes in the air coming to a stop as she glances around to see neither of her phones going off slowly turning to look in the direction of the sound Lori's eyes widen slightly when she sees Doug's left hand glowing with each ring.

As he sees the shocked expression across Lori's face slowly following her eyesight Doug's eyes suddenly widen when he sees his left hand glowing as the sound of a phone ringing echoes through the air.

" What the hell is that?"

" It's….but how? It should have shown up on the scans."

" What is it?"

" It's a small cellphone that had been implanted inside of your hand. I have one implanted as well but your's…."

Snapping out of her thoughts as she shakes her head slowly Lori looks up towards Doug's face to see him staring at her with confusion.

" Do you want to prove to me that you're not with the resistance? This is your chance. I need you to answer that call without alerting whoever it is of my presence. Can you do that?"

As she sees the slightest of nods gently reaching down as she starts to uncuff Doug slowly reaching up Lori touches her ear piece.

" Everyone spread out. I want an established perimeter around the square."

Retracting her hand as she turns towards Doug to see him gently rubbing his wrists slowly as she sees him turning to look up Lori stares at him with a hardening expression.

" Stay within eyesight. If you attempt to escape then you will be shot on sight. Is that clear?"

Nodding his head as he watches Lori disappear into the crowd towards a small stand slowly reaching up Doug presses his left hand gently to his ear.

" Hello? Hello?"

" Hello?"

" It's Hammond."

" I don't know any Hammond."

" Oh shit. You said this might happen. Look find a piece of glass. Put your hand to it. Do it now."

Glancing around as he looks through the crowd for Lori to only spot her off in the corner talking with one of the merchants as she looks in his direction slowly nodding his head to the side Doug watches as she returns the nod before slowly as he walks away Doug glances around the area for some piece of glass to use.

Round the corner as he sees a glass stand used to makes calls racing over Doug places his hand on the glass to only suddenly watch with wide eyes as an box comes flashing onto the screen with a face of a man that he never has seen before.

" You really don't remember anything do you?"

" Who the hell are you?"

" You honestly don't remember any of it do you?"

" No,no i don't. Remember what? How do you know me?"

" We worked at federal intel together. Look there isn't much time. You said to me that if you ever popped back onto the grid that i was to deliver you this message."

" Message? What message? What the hell is going on?"

" There isn't much time. Look you asked me to give a message to you so i'm giving it to you. Get the key."

" Key? What is it?"

" You said that you would know."

" Yeah well i don't. So tell me what it is."

" Look i know that we were close but this is getting too dangerous. If they find out that i've contacted you…."

" Just tell me what's going on? Are tell me just who you think i am."

" Look there isn't any time. If i were you, I would get rid of that phone. Alright? Now!"

" How am i supposed to get rid of this phone it's in my goddamn hand!"

Suddenly as she sees the box across the glass disappear coming out of the shadows slowly Lori makes her way over towards Doug to see him staring down at his hand.

Hearing footsteps approaching as he glances up to see Lori slowly making her way over towards him retracting his hand Doug looks back over towards the glass at his reflection.

" Did you recognize that man?"

" No. he said that his name was Hammond but i don't recognize him."

" Alright that's a start. Did he tell you anything else?"

" He told me to get the key."

" Key? What key?"

" I don't know. He said that i gave him that message to give to me in case this happened. What the hell is going on Lori?"

Just as she is about to respond as she hears the familiar sound of her phone going off looking down Lori's eyes widen slightly when she sees her left hand glowing.

" Shit."

" Lori?"

" Stay perfectly still and don't make a sound."

Taking a deep breathe as she slowly raises up her hand Lori turn away from Doug before slowly she puts her hand up to her ear.

" What is your status?"

" Sir? I have the target in custody a we speak."

" Excellent work. You are to bring him to me immediately is that clear? We clear up any misunderstanding later."

" Sir why was i not notified of his advanced tactical training. I should have been made aware of that."

" How the hell did he get reactivated?"

" An agent in place told me that he went to Recall. I sent in a team but his memory implanted had been blown before they could get to him. He is clearly regaining memory fragments."

" Listen closely. You do whatever it takes to bring him to me alive. Is that understood?"

Glancing over her shoulder as she sees Doug staring directly at her slowly Lori forces a small smile across her face before she turns her head back forward.

" Who the hell is this guy? He has cooperated with me fully and has shown to help us in anyway that he can. It is only fair if we can help give him some of the answers he is seeking."

Looking on closely suddenly as he sees Lori turning to look towards him with wide eyes Doug can't help the confused look that forms across his face before he watches her turn to look back forward.

" Are you fucking kidding me? Why is…."

" In due time. All you need to know is everything is not as it seems."

Closing her eyes as she takes a deep breathe Lori nods her head.

" Yes sir."

Retracting her hand as she turns around to see Doug staring at her with a confused look across his face slowly Lori gives him a sad smile as she locks eyes with him.

" You really don't remember anything do you?"

" No. what is going on? Who am i?"

" Your name isn't Doug. It's Hauser. Carl Hauser."


	2. Chapter 2

" Your name isn't Doug. It's Hauser. Carl Hauser."

With his eyes going as wide as saucers as he looks at Lori to see her nodding her head slightly slowly Doug shakes his head as he leans his back against the glass post.

" No. I'm not Carl Hauser. My name is…."

" No it isn't. Douglas Quaid is only a memory implanted into your mind. He doesn't exist. But Carl Hauser does."

Shaking his head as he feels his legs giving in on him slowly Doug slides down the glass before slowly as he feels himself gently hitting the ground reaching up Doug takes his head in his hands as he roughly grabs his hair.

" I can't be him. I just can't. I would never kill anyone…."

For the next few seconds as she hears Doug mumbling to himself slowly walking over Lori kneels down next to Doug before gently she lays a hand down on his shoulder as she looks closely at his face.

" I'm sorry but it's the truth. You are Carl Hauser. Cohaagen has never lied to me before and i don't think he is doing so now. But i do know this your name maybe Carl Hauser but i don't think you are him. Not really anyways."

Glancing up as he sees Lori staring down at him with a smile Doug can't help but look at her with a confused look before he feels her giving his shoulder a squeeze.

" No. I don't think so. Tell me this. If given the chance would you set off a bomb in a city square intending to take out as many civilians of the UFB as you could? No i don't think so.

You may have his name but you are nothing like him. You may have his memories deep down in that brain of yours but when i look at you, I don't see a killer. Instead i see someone trying to do the right thing.

I will do everything that i can to help you but i need for you to help me. I need you to concentrate and think about that message. What is the key that you need to find?"

" I honestly don't know…."

" Think. It's in there somewhere deep inside. Only you know the answer. Only you know what the key is and where to find it. You just have to search within."

Taking a deep breathe as he nods his head leaning back against the glass Doug closes his eyes as he repeats the word key in his head for a couple of seconds when suddenly within a flash a memory starts to come flooding into his mind.

Parts of a memory that he was still unsure of as he watches. The memory of being lead to the inside of a room. Some sort of vault. The memory of taking out a small deposit box and placing it down on a small table before suddenly the memory vanishes.

Opening his eyes as he looks over towards Lori to see her staring at him with interest slowly Doug nods his head.

" What did you see? What do you remember?"

" I saw myself being lead into some sort of vault. I don't know…."

" No this is good. What else?"

" I….i had this safety deposit box there. 10549."

" Good. This is good. It must be a safety deposit box stored at the First Bank here. Come on."

Slowly getting up as she extends her hand down and helps Doug up slowly reaching down Lori grabs a hold of his arm before mere moments later they slowly disappear into the crowd.

* * *

Walking through the front doors as he glances around his surroundings to find citizens going about their business not paying any attention towards him slowly Doug makes his way towards the front counter of the bank with Lori following close behind with her eyes watching everyone in the bank carefully.

" Can i help you sir?"

" Yeah i have a safety deposit box here. The number is 10549."

For the next few seconds as he watches the man behind the counter type in the number to only watch him point towards the screen slowly extending his hand out Doug presses his thumb against the scanner before a mere moment later he watches the scanner go green as the man gives him a nod.

" Okay this way please."

Slowly rounding the counter as he waves Doug to follow after a few steps as he glances over his shoulder to see if his client is following a confused look forms across the bank employee's face when he sees Lori following close behind Doug.

" It's okay. She's my wife."

With a simple nod slowly turning his head back the bank employee leads Doug and Lori through the bank before mere minutes later as they arrive outside of a secure area slowly the bank employee opens up the door and steps to the side allowing them access into the room.

" You can use any one of those tables. And i'll be just outside if you need me."

" Thank you."

Receiving a nod as he watches the bank employee leaving the room making sure to close the door behind them glancing over to his side as he see Lori making her way over towards one of the shelves inspecting each drawer she finds slowly turning on his heels Doug does the same on the opposite wall.

" It's around here somewhere."

" Over here."

Looking over his shoulder as he sees Lori nodding her head at the drawer in front of her slowly Doug makes his way across the room to see a label with the numbers 10549 across it with a small thumb scanner to it's side.

Reaching out as he gently presses his thumb against the scanner to see it light up blue suddenly as he hears the sound of a lock being unlocked Doug takes a step back as he sees Lori doing the same before he watches as the drawer extends out revealing a silver box inside of the drawer.

Without any hesitation reaching in as he takes the box in his hand to only slowly place the box down on a nearby table reaching out Doug unclips the locks as he sees out of the corner of his eye Lori looking down at the box with interest before within a flash Doug opens up the box revealing a variety of items inside.

Items that he instantly recognized but some he didn't.

Stacks of passports that as he rifles through them contain images of people he never recognized before. Some sort of large silver choker device resting just next to them.

Stack after stack of money from 20 dollar bills to 100's neatly sorted with bands wrapped around them. But the real interest was a small black object just under the stack of money.

A small black block that he couldn't quite figure out what it was. And from the look he could see across Lori's face he knew she didn't know either. But she knew what the other item is. He knew that for sure as he saw the look of awe in her eyes once she spotted the object.

Reaching into the box as he places item after item to the side until the box is completely empty without any hesitation slowly Doug glides his hand through the box searching for some kind of hidden compartment before suddenly after a couple of seconds as his finger slides across the side to have a small panel unlocked causing a small board to slide out glancing up Doug watches Lori turn away from the black block in her hand to look down towards the box.

Looking closely as he sees what he thinks to be a small mouse reaching out Doug clicks on the mouse before suddenly as the message of 1 data file received comes up on the screen glancing up Doug watches Lori place the block down to hover his shoulder to look at the screen.

Clicking on the mouse once again as he sees the file opening to reveal a line of codes to suddenly flash across the screen slowly a confused look forms across Doug's face before he glances up to see

the same look of confusion across Lori's face.

" Do you…."

" Scroll down."

Turning back towards the screen as he slowly scrolls down the page to see pictures of different designs that he instantly recognized as the synthetic robots that he had grown accustomed to making down at the factory slowly Doug shakes his head as his confusion deepens.

" What the hell is going on?"

* * *

 **Synthetics? What the hell do they have to do with any of this?**

Snapping out of her thoughts as she glances away from the road to look over towards her side to see Doug glancing out the passenger's side window with his head up against the glass letting out a sigh slowly Lori turns to look back ahead towards the road before she looks out her mirror to see the two police cruisers still following close behind her.

" My name is really Lori Quaid. Even though it doesn't happen often in your case you took your wife's last name."

Letting out a chuckle as he glances over to his side to see Lori glancing at him with a ghost smile across her face Doug can't help but do the same before slowly he turns to look back out his window.

" Was any of it real?"

" What?"

" Our marriage? Was any of it real for you?"

Glancing over towards Doug as he sees him staring at her through the glass taking a deep breathe Lori turns to look back forward as she nods her head.

" Some of it yes. I was only doing my job but i found this assignment to be more challenging than i originally thought."

" Like what?"

" I knew when i was assigned to take on this assignment that as your wife, I would need to have a physical relationship with you. Don't get me wrong the sex was great. I just didn't expect to….

" Didn't expect what?"

Turning her head to look at Doug just as she is about to respond suddenly Lori is forced to brace herself as the police cruiser shakes from behind.

Snapping her head to look over her shoulder as she sees a one of the police cruisers filled with synthetic robots ramming against the bumper of the cruiser a confused look forms across Lori's face before her eyes widen when she sees one of the synthetic robots rearing back to point the machine gun in their arms at the cruiser.

In a sudden motion as she hears the sound of a few rounds striking the back of the cruiser whipping her head down Lori glances over to her side to see Doug doing the same as she steers the cruiser blindly through the highway.

" Why the hell are they shooting at us!?"

As she shakes her head suddenly Lori's eyes widen as she sees a police cruiser quickly coming up quickly from the passenger's side of the cruiser with a one of the synthetic officers raising up a gun in their direction.

" Keep your head down!"

In a sudden motion as she turns on the steering wheel hard sending the cruiser to ram hard against the synthetic cruiser causing the synthetic officer's aim to miss it's mark causing the rounds to strike against the back of the cruiser without giving the synthetics a chance to react rearing back again Lori sends the cruiser back into the synthetic's cruiser causing the synthetic's cruiser to mere seconds later spiral out of control and off the ramp leaving a trail of some behind them.

Snapping her head back up as she looks through her front mirror to see the two remaining synthetic cruisers quickly making their way towards them glancing over to her side in a sudden motion Lori slides the steering wheel across the dashboard towards Doug as she rears back and unhooks her handgun from her belt.

" Here drive!"

With his eyes widening as he grabs a hold of the steering wheel Doug can't help but glance over to his side to look at Lori before his eyes widen even more when he sees her leaning out the window with a gun firmly in both of her hands aimed directly in the direction of the synthetic cruisers.

Rearing back as she fires round after round in the direction of the synthetic's cruisers to see each round she fires striking against the cruiser's windshield to no effect pulling back Lori releases the clips to only slap in a new clip into each of her handguns before slowly just as she pops her head out Lori quickly jerks her head back inside when she sees a synthetic officer pointing a gun in her direction to only watch as her side mirror is blasted off with a round intended for her head.

As she feels the cruiser shaking from a series of bullets striking the back of the cruiser in a sudden move as sees out of the corner of her eye Doug turning hard on the steering wheel causing the cruiser to drastically turn seeing an opening in a sudden move Lori leans out of the window with her handguns raises up before just as the synthetic cruiser's driver window comes flying by rearing back Lori sends round after round at the synthetic officer's helmets instantly shattering the driver's window causing every round the strikes into the synthetic officer's helmets causing tiny sparks to spark out from their helmets towards the windshield.

Suddenly as she feels the shockwave of the crusier exploding sending shattered car parts everywhere ducking her head back into the cruiser snapping her head to the side Lori watches Doug send the cruiser through the smoke in the opposite direction as she releases her empty clips intending to slap in a new clips with the given chance.

Seeing a small lift to the side pulling the cruiser into the spot as he feels the car being lowered down into the next level glancing over to his side Doug looks over to see Lori loading a fresh clip into one of her handguns as she disposes the other in the back seat.

Feeling the lift coming to a stop without any hesitation rearing back on the controls Doug sends the cruiser flying down the level while out of the corner of his eye he watches as Lori glances around their surroundings with the gun in her hand at ready.

Glancing over his shoulder as he looks through the shattered back window of the cruiser to see a police cruiser quickly making their way towards them with a synthetic standing up from the back with a machine gun ready to fire slamming on the breaks within seconds Doug catches his head from slamming into the dashboard as the two cruisers collide sending the synthetic officer sliding down the synthetic's cruiser onto their hood before without giving them any chance to react Doug sends the cruiser flying down the level.

Without so much as glancing back as he steers the cruiser past numerous cars nearly avoiding them by fraction of inches suddenly Doug's eyes go wide as saucers when he sees off in the distance two synthetic police barricade parked at the end of the highway.

Reaching out as he tries to turn off the cruiser to no prevail as an access denied comes across the screen rearing back Doug sends fist after fist into the console unaware that Lori is staring at him with wide eyes.

" What the hell are you doing!?"

" You're gonna need your seatbelt on."

Suddenly as the thought of what he is trying to do transpires in her mind reaching out as she clips on her seat belt to see him reaching to do the same mere seconds later as she turns back towards him to see him smash his hand through the console with the slightest of nods being directed in his direction suddenly as she hears the cruiser shutting down reaching out Lori grabs a firm hold of the dashboard as she feels the cruiser tumbling down at high speed.

With his eyes locked firmly down as he watches the cruiser fly down at high speed descending down nearby buildings at high speed just as the cruiser is about to hit the ground rearing back Doug sends the cruiser's engine back into full gear nearly avoiding the ground by inches sending a nearby parked car flying as he feels the cruiser itself tipping over.

Mere seconds later as the cruiser tumbles over in a series of spins to land upright with blood dripping down from his forehead taking as he takes a deep breathe reaching up Doug unbuckles his seat belt before just as he turns to look at Lori suddenly his eyes widen when he sees Lori laying across her seat with her eyes firmly closed as a small gash above her eyebrow causes a small stream of blood to run down her face to the seat below.

Reaching out with a shaky hand as he gently touches Lori's neck with his fingers instantly finding a pulse Doug breathes a sigh in relief before slowly ignoring the pain coursing through his body Doug makes his way out of the cruiser to look around his surroundings to find countless civilians staring at the scene with wide eyes.

Glancing all around as he sees no police officers in sight slowly racing around the cruiser with a burst of energy reaching out Doug slowly pushes open the cruiser's passenger door far enough to gently grab Lori before within moments as he pulls back to carry Lori firmly in his arms to glance around his surroundings suddenly a street sign catches his eye.

A street sign that he instantly recognized before suddenly within a flash another memory comes flooding through his mind. A memory of walking down this street while he was constantly glancing over his shoulder as though looking for any followers.

The memory of walking through a large apartment complex with the feeling of being followed before the memory ends just outside of an apartment door.

Snapping out of his thoughts as he glances down to see Lori resting in his arms taking a deep breathe as he suppresses the pain that is surging through his body slowly Doug makes his way down the street.


	3. Chapter 3

Being careful as possible as he glances away from Lori's unconscious body to glance over his shoulder down the hallway to see nobody in sight turning back forward with a flick of his wrist slowly Doug walks through the open doorway of once Carl Hauser's apartment making sure to close the door behind himself before slowly as he reapplies the locks Doug turns around to glance around his surroundings.

Surroundings that instantly started to answer some of his unanswered questions. Questions like why did he always want to learn how to play the piano? A question that is instantly answered as he sees a black piano off inside of the living room surrounded by a few pieces of small white furniture.

But that would have to wait as he stares down at Lori. first he had to help her. Glancing away from the living room as he quickly looks around to see a small bed inside of a side room near the living room slowly Doug makes his way over towards the bed before being as gentle as possible Doug lowers Lori down onto the bed.

Just as he pulls away as he examines Lori's forehead to see the cut across her forehead has ceased to stop bleeding reaching out gently Doug pulls back a few locks of her long brunette hair that had made it's way over the cut before slowly as he sees her eyes fluttering slowly Doug pulls back to make his way out of the room and inside of the living room.

With one goal in mind as the thought of find the key enters into his mind without wasting anytime going over towards a nearby dresser slowly Doug goes through drawers of the dresser before slowly he does the same to another finding nothing useful.

Pulling back from the dressers as he walks across the room towards a couple of boxes that have been sealed away with plastic wrapping without wasting anytime reaching out Doug rips apart the plastic to go through the boxes one by one to have the same result.

Turning away from the boxes as he glances around once again to look around the room to find a mirror hung up in the corner with another pair of nightstands nearby racing across the room with haste Doug looks through the nightstands to find each of them completely empty before moments later as he leans up to rest his hands up against the mirror Doug's eyes widen slightly when he sees up in the top left hand corner of the mirror a lone small thumb print.

Reaching up as he presses his thumb against the print mere moments later as he hears the sound of a click Doug pulls back his hand as he takes a step back before he watches the mirror suddenly slide over to reveal a hidden panel containing something that he never expected to see.

A small shelf containing boxes of rounds for two small machine gun pistols hanging just above them on the shelf above.

A sight that makes his eyes widen slightly before as he snaps out of his shocked state reaching out Doug unlatches the two machine gun pistols from the two shelf to only place them in the waistband of his jeans before mere moments later he slowly returns towards one of the living room chairs to deposit two arm fulls of ammo.

Retrieving the pistols as he slaps in a fresh clip into the first followed by the second as he feels a small object poking at his leg reaching back into his pocket slowly Doug retracts his hand to stare at the small black block that he had retrieved from inside of the bank.

A block that held so much mystery. A block that he was still unsure what it was. But he knew he would find the answer here. He just had to search hard enough.

Threading the block through his finger ignoring the pistols slowly Doug gets up to glance back around the room before his eyes slowly rest upon the piano.

With a sudden urge that he couldn't describe to go to the piano slowly Doug caves in and makes his way over towards the piano before mere moments later as he takes a seat Doug stares helplessly down at the piano's keyboard.

Gently depositing the black block on top of the piano with a small smile making it's way across his face reaching down as he starts to press his finger randomly down Doug's eyes suddenly widen slightly when he hears a small tune.

Staring down at the keyboard as he brings his other hand down to do the same to hear a small tune being played perfectly coming to a stop Doug can't help but suppress a chuckle before slowly he starts to get lost into the moment.

As he hears the sound of a smoothing tune being played slowly Doug closes his eyes just enjoying the moment before after a couple of seconds the sound of a thump causes him to open his eyes to look down towards the board.

Suddenly as he looks down towards one of the white piano keys to see the black key to it missing within a flash Doug's eyes widen as he glances up towards the black board resting on top of the piano before slowly reaching up Doug grabs a hold of the block to only a mere second later place the board down onto the white key to find it to be a perfect match.

Reaching back down as he replays the tune he had started to play once again just as he gets done playing the tune the sound of a click coming from the piano causes him to stop to look up to see a small hologram slowly starting to come into focus over the top of the piano.

A hologram that he instantly recognizes as himself. Or what he knew to be Hauser.

" I'm recording this message as a fail safe so if you are watching this now it means you are in some seriously deep shit. But the good news is you made it here which means my instincts were right and somewhere inside of you. You're still me.

My name….your name is Carl Hauser."

" Shit."

" This recording has limited interactive capabilities. Please rephrase the question."

" You work for Matthias."

" Yes but i've never met the man. Hardly anyone has. I was given a direct order to infiltrate the resistance and kill Mathias."

" Why didn't you?"

" I couldn't kill Matthias because he doesn't exist. None of it does."

" What doesn't exist? I don't understand."

" When i had been ordered to infiltrate the resistance, I found out something that i shouldn't have. Matthias isn't real and neither are any of the terrorists that you may have heard about.

It's all an illusion created by Cohaagen designed to spread fear. Those bombings that have taken place in the UFB have been orchestrated by Cohaagen himself. Trust me. He was my commanding officer in the war. I know what that asshole is capable of…. "

" Wait why would he attack his own people? I don't understand?"

" To justify building a bigger army of synthetics. Don't you get it? He's going to invade the Colony. Cohaagen is going to level the whole Colony and rebuild. Then simply replace the workers with synthetics.

Innocent people will die. But we can stop them. You and me."

" What do you mean me?"

" There is a way to shut down all of the synthetics. There is a kill code. It's a long complex sequence. It had been designed as a failsafe in case any malfunctions started to occur with the synthetics.

It's the only chance that we have at stopping the invasion. Take it from the one person that knows you better than you do. You can do this."

" How?"

" There is a main computer hidden deep inside of the GFB. it's heavily guarded by Cohaagen. It's the only computer that is connected to every synthetic network nationwide. Get to the computer and punch in the code.

I've done a lot of wrong in my life. This is the chance to do something right. Millions of lives are in your hands. Good luck buddy."

Suddenly as he sees the hologram phasing out reaching up Doug takes his head in his hand and starts to gently rub his forehead as he closes his eyes.

" You've got to be kidding me. This can't be happening."

" I don't believe it either."

Glancing over his shoulder as he sees Lori making her way into the room slowly Doug gets up from his seat before he looks back down towards the top of the piano.

" Am i supposed to believe this?"

" No, I wouldn't but some of the things you said make sense. I don't think that Hauser would lie to you about this after all the trouble that you would have to go through to get to this point.

I know that this is a lot to take in…."

" You're right. This is a lot to take in. None of this makes sense to me. I'm Doug Quaid. That's all i know."

" No you're not. Your name is…."

" Don't call me that! My name is Douglas Quaid. I was born on August 29. I was raised by my mother…."

" Stop! None of that is true. I told you that Douglas Quaid doesn't exist. He was only a memory implanted into your mind to suppress the truth. This truth apparently. It shows why Cohaagen put so much effort into this…."

" But why? Why would he go through all of this? Why not just kill me instead."

" I don't know. Maybe he was going to use you as a fall guy or something? Whatever the case is we need to get out of here now!"

Suddenly as she sees out of the corner of her eye the familiar sight of flashing lights coming from a helicopter snapping her head to the side Lori's eyes widen when she sees a bright light making it's way through the curtains.

" How the hell did they find us?"

Glancing down at her hand as she silently curses in a sudden move rearing back Lori pulls out a knife from her back pocket before in a sudden motion as she grits her teeth Lori drives the knife into the side of her left hand to Doug's horror.

" Lori what the hell are you…."

" Our phones! Their using them to track us! Get rid of yours now!"

Throwing the knife over towards Doug as she grits her teeth slowly Lori pulls out the small keyboard of her cellphone from her hand before in a sudden motion as she whips the keyboard across the room racing over further into the living room Lori grabs a hold of one of the pistols on the chair.

Quickly tucking the pistols into her jeans as she quickly grabs as many clips as she can tucking them safely in her pocket in a sudden motion as she races back over towards Doug to see him throwing his cellphone keyboard to the side without giving him a chance to react Lori grabs a firm hold of his arm and quickly tugs him out of the room.

Without breaking her stride as she pulls Doug through the hallway making sure to keep her free hand firmly on a pistol with haste Lori pulls Doug around the corner before within moments as she quickly follows Doug down a couple of stairways reaching out Lori unclips on of the pistols just as they go through the door at the bottom of the stairway.

Suddenly as she sees synthetic officer one after another waiting outside of the complex with their weapons raised up in their direction through the glass quickly Lori comes to a stop bringing Doug along with her before slowly she snaps her head around to see a human officer already inside with his weapon raised behind a small counter.

" Doug!?"

Snapping his head around as he raises his hand up to block the light to see a figure making their way forward through the light with raised hands slowly a confused look forms across Doug's face before his eyes widen slightly when he sees the form of his friend Harry appear slowly making his way towards him.

" Harry? Harry what are you doing here?"

" They sent me in for you. To talk you down."

" Who sent you in?"

" Doug you don't get it do you. They didn't send me in here. They sent me into your mind. I need you to listen to me. You're suffering what's called a paranoid disassociate break."

" What are you talking about?"

" You're not really here Doug. You're still at Recall strapped to a chair. That's what's really."

" Back at Recall!?"

In a sudden motion as she snaps her pistol up to aim the barrel at Harry's head out of the corner of her eye Lori watches as a horrified look forms across Doug's face.

" He's lying!"

" Woah,woah,woah!"

" He's lying!"

" Woah,woah slow down. Harry what are you talking about?"

" The chemical transfusion in your mind. They thought a familiar face would help to try to bring you back before it was too late and you would be trapped here forever."

" Don't listen to him! He's just trying to confuse you using what they implanted in your mind!"

Turning his head away as he glances around the outside of the building to see human officers circling around outside suddenly Doug's eyes widen when he sees a familiar figure outside among the crowd being consoled by a few of the officers.

" Lori? How? What is…."

" She's here too Doug. The real Lori."

" What are you talking about?"

" You still don't get it do you? The Lori that has been accompanying you for the past day isn't real. She's only a fragment of your imagination. A dream fragment that you design from your mind.

The real Lori is at Recall in the room beside you holding your hand right now worried sick about you."

" That's not…."

" Wake up Doug! That is the real Lori! As soon as i told her what was happening at Recall she came straight over. I had to call her at work. She loves you Doug."

" Lori didn't work last night Harry. You're lying. Why are you lying to me?"

" Because you want me too. You're clinging to the illusion."

" He's lying!"

For a split second as she turns to look at Doug suddenly Lori's eyes widen when she feels the pistol being snatched out of her hand by Harry before a mere second later she takes a step back when she sees Harry pointing the pistol at her as out of the corner of her eye she sees Doug training the other pistol in their possession on him.

" Woah,woah,woah! Harry! Harry? Harry what are you doing? Harry what are you doing!?"

" This is not a delusion!"

" No? I'll tell you what."

Without taking his eyes away from Harry suddenly as he sees him extending the pistol out towards Lori to only see her take the gun without any hesitation to point the gun straight back at Harry slowly Doug glances back and forth between them to see Harry briefly raise his hands up before returning them down to his side.

" Is that proof enough for you? Would i have done that if this was for real?"

" Don't listen to him! He's trying to manipulate you into giving yourself up! We've gotta get out of here…."

" And go where? Out of your head Doug? But you can if you just let me help you."

" Help me how?"

" Don't listen to him."

" How can you help me?"

Glancing over to her side as she sees Doug's aim lowered to the ground slowly Lori shakes her head as she looks back towards Harry.

" You have to shoot her Doug."

" What now?"

" I know that's asking a lot. And i would never ask you to do it otherwise but it's the only way. This Lori this version of her is nothing more than a safeguard. A way to break out of this fantasy and back into the real world. She's at the center of this whole twisted fantasy of yours."

" Hauser…."

" Which is why you need to kill her. Choose us. Choose reality. The real Lori is waiting for you. You shoot her Doug and i promise you that you will gasp awake into Lori's arms finding me sitting beside you."

Glancing down for a brief second as she sees Doug slowly raising up his gun in a swift motion Lori turns the pistol away from Harry towards Doug to see him bringing the motion to a stop as he raises his free hand up with slightly wide eyes.

" Doug? Listen to me. He's lying to you. This is real. This isn't some sort of fantasy inside of your mind. And i cannot allow you to raise that gun up at me. Even if i have to shoot you myself."

For the next couple of seconds as he stares into Lori's eyes to see her aim remaining true to form despite the mixture of emotions he can see coming from her eyes suddenly Doug's eyes widen slightly when in a sudden motion Lori drops her aim down from him.

" Of Course she can't do it. She's not real. Now you just need to prove it to yourself. End her Doug. End this nightmare. Shoot her! Kill her damn it!

Staring deep into her eyes as he sees the slightest of moisture forming in her eyes slowly Doug's grip on his pistol tightens.

" Shoot her!"

In a sudden motion as he wipes his pistol around to aim the barrel firmly at Harry's head without any hesitation rearing back Doug sends a round flying penetrating through Harry's head sending his lifeless body down to the ground with a thud as the sounds of screams can be heard echoing from the inside.

Without wasting a second as she snaps her body around rearing back Lori sends a round striking the human officer directly in the head sending his lifeless body falling back into the wall before in a sudden motion Lori feels herself being pulled away by Doug to the other end of the room as the sound of gunfire being unleashed shattering the glass echoes throughout the room.

Glancing over his shoulder as he looks back through the crowd to see the image of Lori's face disappearing into a familiar face that he had only seen briefly in a few of his dreams slowly Doug's eyes widen before a mere moment later he disappears inside of an elevator with Lori by his side.


	4. Chapter 4

With the sound of gun shots ringing through his ears as he hears the sound of the elevator doors closing causing a ding to echo through the small area reaching out in a sudden move Doug smashes his fists into the wall unaware that by his side Lori is looking towards him with a mixture of emotions radiating from her eyes.

" God damn it Harry! God damn it!"

Leaning his forehead against the wall as he takes a deep breathe slowly Doug looks over to his side to see Lori staring directly at him before slowly he starts to look her up and down for any sign of a bullet wound to find nothing.

" Are you okay?"

With the slightest of nods as she looks deep into Doug's eyes without giving him a chance to react reaching out Lori pulls him over towards him before she crashes her lips into his own.

Snapping out of his shocked state just as he responds into the kiss suddenly Doug opens his eyes when he feels Lori pulling back from the kiss before he opens his eyes just in time to see Lori delivering a slap across his face.

" Don't ever do that again."

Unable to respond as he just gives her the slightest of nods suddenly as he hears the sound of the elevator doors reopening before he has any chance to react Doug suddenly feels himself being lead out of the elevator in a hurry by Lori.

Keeping her eyes focused forward as she lets go of Doug's hand raising up her pistol slowly Lori walks forward with her eyes glancing all around their surroundings as she sees out of the corner of her eye Doug doing the same just a step behind her.

Surroundings that already sending her warning signs. Warning signs by just how quiet it was. Too quiet for her taste. Infact she couldn't hear anything. Nothing but the sound of their footsteps. A sign that she knew they needed to be extra cautious.

Especially with the floor that they are currently on. A floor that they should have seen some form of life on. Instead they had found nothing. Nothing but an empty hallway. A hallway that as they get near the end causes them to suddenly stop when the sound of footsteps echo from down the hallway.

Leaning up against the wall as she hears the sound of footsteps slowly making their way over with her grip on her pistol tightening glancing over to her side as she sees Doug giving her the slightest of nods Lori quickly returns the nod before in an instant as she sees a human officer rounding the corner without giving him a chance to react Lori sends a round straight through his helmet sending his lifeless body down to the ground with a thud.

Hearing the sound of a gun being cocked spinning around as she sends another round flying from her pistol striking the remaining human officer into the chest sending him lifelessly down to the ground with a thud before suddenly as she reaches down to grab the machine gun from the officer's lifeless body the sight of a synthetic officer coming around the corner causes her eyes to wide.

Suddenly without having any chance to react as she grabs a hold of the machine gun Lori feels herself being quickly brought back behind the corner before a mere second later the sound of machine gun rounds smashing against the wall sending pieces of the wall flying all across the hallway echoes throughout the floor.

" You still alive baby?"

With a confused look forming across his face as he slowly slips past Lori to take a peak from around the corner to see a woman that he had seen a few times before in his dreams peeking her head from around a pair of synthetic officers slowly Doug's confusion only deepens before he quickly has to snap his head back just in time nearly avoiding a gun shot directed for his head by the mysterious woman.

" Or i suppose i should be calling you Hauser now. Seeing as how that is your real name. I guess the jokes on me. I should have killed you when i had the chance. I thought you were a nobody. Turns out i was sleeping with the greatest intelligence agent alive."

Glancing around his surroundings as he spots another elevator nearby just a couple of feet back down the hall on the opposite wall slowly Doug makes his way over as Lori takes a position close to the corner of the hallway with the machine gun firmly in her hands.

" Cohaagen still wants you alive though. Thinks you can be an asset to us. Guess he still has faith in you. But then again you were always the favorite. All we heard at the agency was how brilliant Carl Hauser was. But i know what you are. You're a traitor. Just like she is and traitors get put to death.

So you might wanna give your little girlfriend a kiss goodbye. As long as she doesn't mind where those lips have been."

Suddenly without any hesitation emerging out of her hiding spot rearing back Lori sends round after round in the direction of the mysterious woman to see each round strike off the synthetic officers as the mysterious woman uses them as her own personal shield before suddenly when she feels the gun going dry quickly Lori ducks back into her hiding spot as she hears the synthetic officers returning fire causing chunks of the wall to come crumbling to the ground as round after round strikes.

" That's it i'm gonna end that bitch."

Dropping the empty machine gun to the ground reaching back as she grabs a firm hold of her pistol taking a few deep breathes suddenly Lori emerges out from her hiding space to send a well placed round in the neck of one of the synthetic officers causing sparks to suddenly come flying from the synthetic's neck to spray across the area.

Ignoring the gunfire that he continues to hear reaching out as he grabs a firm hold of each side of the elevator's doors rearing back with all of his might slowly Doug pushes the doors off to their sides before in a sudden motion Doug snaps his head to look back towards Lori to see her sending another round down the hallway.

" Come on!"

Snapping her head towards Doug as she sees him struggling to hold the elevator's doors open bursting from her spot Lori quickly makes her way past him to the inside of the elevator shaft before suddenly she looks back towards the open doorway to see Doug quickly stepping through causing the elevator doors to quickly shut.

Taking a quick glance around as she sees an opening at the far end of the shaft without wasting anytime reaching down Lori quickly grabs a firm hold of Doug's hand to lead him quickly through the shaft avoiding a few obstacles on the way.

Suddenly she comes to a stop at the end of the open shaft way to see what she could only describe as a black hole leading into nothing but darkness while countless elevators could be seen in motion all across the open space Lori's eyes widen before the sound of a gunshot echoing off the walls causes her to snap her head around to look back down the shaft to see a synthetic officer aiming their machine gun in their direction with the mysterious woman following slowly behind it from a short distance away.

" You've gotta be shitting me!"

Snapping her head back around as she sees the shocked expression across Doug's face slowly a determined look forms across Lori's face before she watches Doug turn to look at her.

" Ready?"

Giving the slightest of nods as she feels herself being quickly lead off the ledge suddenly within seconds Lori can't help but grit her teeth as she feels herself landing down hard on the cold steel of another elevator's roof right beside Doug before quickly with her pistol ready Lori quickly snaps her body around to look up towards the ledge as she sees out of the corner of her eye Doug reaching around for a soft spot on the roof.

Finding a spot suddenly without any hesitation rearing back Doug stomps down viciously at the elevator's roof causing the metal to slowly bend before within seconds as he makes a big enough opening to fit a body through reaching out Doug pulls Lori over towards him.

Suddenly as she sees the form of a synthetic officer appearing on the ledge rearing back Lori sends a round up towards the synthetic striking the synthetic's head causing it's head to snap back before suddenly she lets out a groan when she feels herself landing on top of Doug inside of the elevator.

Hearing the sound of voices all around in a quick motion Lori snaps her pistol up in the direction of the sound to see a young couple that is huddling up in the corner of the elevator before slowly as she feels a hand being gently placed on her own slowly Lori looks over to her side to see Doug shaking his head.

Seeing that the message has been sent as he feels Lori slowly lowering down her pistol to her side to only rest her head gently against his shoulder slowly Doug looks over towards the young couple as he forces a smile across his face.

" Is this going down?"

Receiving a quick nod is response from the frightened young couple slowly Doug returns the nod as he pulls Lori closer to his side without any resistance before mere seconds later as he hears the sound of a ding echoing throughout the closed space without having a chance to react Doug watches with slightly wide eyes as the young couple bursts out of the closed space as soon as the elevator doors open to reveal a small squad of officers at the other end of the floor.

Snapping up to his feet as he hears the sound of an officer shouting out their presence to his fellow officers in a sudden move Doug snaps off to the side of the elevator nearly avoiding a wave of bullets that smash against the metal wall on the inside as he sees Lori doing the same on the opposite wall before just as he is about to return fire Doug breathes a sigh in relief when he sees the elevator doors closing as the sound of bullets ricocheting off the closed door echoes throughout the closed space.

Suddenly as he hears the sound of a loud crashing coming from a few feet away just as he turns his head towards the sound Doug snaps his head to the side as he feels a well placed kick landing across his face sending the gun in his hand flying against a nearby wall.

Emerging from her spot as she quickly raises up her gun towards their attacker to see the woman grabbing a firm hold of her arm without giving the attacker anytime to react as she pulls back on the trigger to send a round over the attacker's shoulder rearing back Lori sends a well placed knee into the attacker's stomach sending the woman stumbling back into a nearby wall as the gun in her hand goes flying.

As she sees the woman bouncing off the wall quickly raising up her hands Lori blocks an incoming right hook being delivered by the woman before just as she is about to react her eyes widen slightly as she sees a synthetic officer crashing down into the inside of the elevator with it's sights on Doug.

A slight moment of distraction that causes her to lose focus for just a split second to have their attacker capitalize with a well placed kick to her chest causing her to smash against the elevator's doors.

Quickly reaching down for a nearby gun as he snaps his gun up to send a few rounds directly into the synthetic officer's helmet causing the bullets to deflect harmlessly off the helmet and into the wall without having anytime to react Doug's eyes widen as he feels his feet leaving the ground from a well placed choke hold.

Feeling the pressure on his throat only increasing by the second as he sees out of the corner of his eye Lori and their attacker exchanging blows off in the corner with Lori quickly gaining the advantage quickly raising up his gun repeatedly Doug smashes the gun into the synthetic officer's neck causing the grip on his throat to increase before after a few seconds as he watches as his vision starts to go dark Doug's eyes widen slightly when he sees an opening inside of the synthetic officer's neck.

Without any hesitation rearing down as he sends a round into the synthetic officer's neck causing a spark to come flying out of the synthetic's neck causing him to close his eyes for a brief second suddenly as he feels the death grip on his throat loosening drastically Doug feels his feet hit the ground before slowly reaching up Doug grabs his throat as he takes a few slow deep breathes.

As she sees their attacker glancing briefly away from her seeing an opening rearing back Lori sends a well placed kick to the back of their attacker's knee causing their attacker to let out a scream before without giving her a chance to react Lori sends a well placed knee to her chest causing their attacker to stumble back against a nearby wall.

Without turning her eyes away as she raises up her hands to get back into her fighting stance suddenly Lori's eyes widen when in a split second their attacker reaches into her jacket to reveal hand held bomb before as she lunges forward Lori's eyes go as wide as saucers as she sees the attacker latch the bomb onto the elevator's doors.

Reaching out as she grabs a firm hold of the bomb to only find that the bomb is grasped held tight against the elevator doors as she rears back to send a well placed backhanded strike that connects against their attacker's face without giving her a chance to react letting go of the bomb rearing back Lori sends a spinning heel kick that connects across their attacker's face sending their attacker smashing against a nearby wall to only watch as her unconscious body slides down the wall with a noticeable gash across her forehead from the impact.

Snapping around as she sees Doug desperately trying to remove the bomb reaching out Lori grabs a firm hold of his shoulders to only turn him around firmly to look at her.

" It's no use. We have to get out of here. Now!"

Nodding his head as he kneels down in a sudden move Doug raises Lori up through the opening in the elevator to only jump up to grasp her hand just seconds later.

As he feels himself stumbling on top of the elevator's roof reaching out Doug grabs a hold of Lori's hand as he sees her struggling to stay on her feet before mere seconds later as he gains his footing Doug's eyes widen slightly when he sees an incoming opening coming up.

Glancing to his side as he sees Lori giving him the slightest of nods suddenly as he sees the elevator just a few feet away leaping out Doug lands on the hard ground with a thud as he hears Lori doing the same.

Snapping his head around as he sees the elevator moving away to the other side of the platform suddenly as he watches the elevator explode leaping to his side Doug covers Lori with his body as he listens to the explosion echo throughout the space.

* * *

Keeping a careful eye around their surrounding with her eyes constantly glancing around with haste as she slowly leads Doug through a large crowd of civilians with her head ducked down Lori can't help but suddenly push Doug further into the crowd as she sees a few officers quickly making their way down the street in the direction of the apartment complex.

Turning her back as she watches as the officers quickly make their way past them and down the street without any hesitation quickly Lori pushes through the crowd dragging Doug quickly behind her before within mere moments she quickly leads him down the street and out of eyesight.

" Where are we going?"

" We're going some place safe. Some place that nobody would think to look for us."

Trusting her judgment for the next hour as Doug feels himself being lead slowly through the city to a part of the city that he had never seen before Doug's interest increase before suddenly as he feels himself being pulled to a stop just outside of a closed door inside of a low end apartment complex Doug looks over towards Lori with confusion.

Watching carefully as he sees Lori gently pushing her thumb down on a print analyzer until the sound of a click silently echoes in the hallway slowly Doug turns away from Lori to look at the door before suddenly as he sees Lori entering inside of the room Doug slowly follows after her as he takes in his surroundings.

Surroundings that instantly only brings confusion. Confusion as to why she brought him here. Brought him to this place. A place that has seen better days. A scene that could only be described as abandoned.

A lone bed off in the corner of the room with worn out bed sheets while off in the other corner of the room rests a small closet. A small side room that he guessed was the room's bathroom.

Closing the door shut with a flick of her wrist as she reapplies the locks slowly making her way past Doug without breaking her stride Lori makes her way over towards a nearby wall while Doug focuses solely on her before slowly she reaches up to touch the wall.

Suddenly as he sees the wall flipping around to reveal an arsenal of guns hanging across Doug's eyes widen before slowly he turns his attention over towards Lori to see a small smirk across her face.

" When i was first promoted knowing the risks that came with the job, I decided to purchase this room. It's strictly off the books. I only pay in cash and the room is under a different name. We should be safe here for now."

Seeing the slightest of nods being directed in her direction returning the nod slowly reaching up Lori grabs a pistol off the wall to only slap in a fresh clip that had been hanging across the wall before slowly as she tucks the pistol in the waistband in the back of her jeans reaching up Lori leans her hands up against the wall unaware that Doug is slowly making his way over.

As he hears Lori taking a deep breathe reaching out Doug gently lays his hand down on her shoulder before a mere moment later he hears her letting out a sigh.

" Lori?"

" I'm fine. I just….just give me a minute to process everything. Alright?"

Glancing over her shoulder as she sees Doug giving her the slightest of nods slowly feeling Doug removing his hand from her shoulder to sit on the nearby bed slowly Lori turns her head back forward to look back towards her arsenal of guns.

" Okay let me get this right. First off your name is Carl Houser. Instead of being the right hand man to The Resistance like you are claimed to be you are actually nothing more than a pawn in Cohaagen's sick game.

A game that could cause millions to lose their lives. And because of this we are the only ones that can stop this from happening. Is there anything else that i am missing?"

Looking over her shoulder as she sees Doug shrugging his shoulder slowly Lori lets out a sigh as she turns her head back forward.

" Fantastic. That's just fucking great."

Raising up her hands as she rubs her face slowly Lori can't help but take a deep breathe before slowly retracting her hands turning on her heels Lori looks back over towards Doug as a small smirk forms across her face.

" You better be worth the trouble."


	5. Chapter 5

Keeping their eyes focused on the entrance doors as a pair of guards stand idly by scanning every single man and woman that come through the doors intending to enter the building the guards can't help but feel uneasy.

Uneasy for the order they had been given. The order to make sure that only clariance personnel were gained accessed to the building. No civilians. No one without any sort of badge.

A order that was given with another. The order to look of for a pair of wanted fugitives. A man and a woman. A couple that was to be considered extremely dangerous.

A couple lead by a man. The same man that they had heard countless stories about. The same man that was considered a legend to the force. A man that they knew would have the ability to kill them if they were to let their guard down for a single second.

But so far no man. No spotting of a couple trying to gain access into the building. Only the same men and women that they had seen enter the building on a daily basis. Nothing out of the ordinary. And that was the terrifying part.

Uneasy for the announcement they had heard just a brief few hours ago. The announcement of an invasion about to take place. The announcement by Cohaagen himself that the Colony was to be invaded after reports of the Colony funding the resistance had been broadcasted.

An announcement that have watched as changes started to happen all around the building. Now wave after wave of synthetics can be seen patrolling through the building. Synthetics that they knew were just ready to be given the order.

Watching the entrance doors open as they see a pair of guards enter the building that they instantly recognized to be a few of the guards that would patrol one of the upper levels of the building with a simple wave of his hand as they watch their fellow guards walk through the scanner unaware to their knowledge the men that had let through were not whom they seemed.

Instead they were a couple in disguise. A disguises that they quickly unmask from themselves as they watch the elevator's doors close behind them.

Reaching up as she takes off the choker she had tucked underneath her guards shirt to only see Doug reaching up to press the emergency stop button on the elevator without wasting anytime quickly Lori sheds herself of the guard's outfit she had been wearing leaving her in only her street clothes before slowly as she reaches for her right wrist to press down on a small device that looked like an ordinary wristwatch out of the corner of her eye Lori watches as Doug kneels down next to her.

Pressing down on the device as she watches a small hologram suddenly appear out of the device displaying a small blueprint of the building for the next few seconds Lori studies the blueprint along with Doug before slowly she rises up to her feet making sure to turn off the device.

Glancing up towards the ceiling then back down towards Doug as she receives a nod slowly Lori returns the nod before as she watches Doug kneel down gently Lori gets onto his shoulders to only feel herself being slowly boosted up towards the elevator's ceiling.

Rearing back as she smashes her fists into the wall with force suddenly as she feels the ceiling panel coming loose slowly Lori slides over the panel to the side causing a hold to open up in the ceiling before with a small burst of energy leaping up Lori makes her way through the ceiling.

Sliding back over towards the opening as she peeks her head through to see Doug staring at her reaching out Lori grabs a hold of the loose panel.

" You know what to do. I'll meet up with you after i take care of some unfinished business."

Giving her a nod as he watches the panel go back over the small opening in the ceiling mentally counting to five just as he reaches five taking a deep breathe making sure his disguise is back on reaching out Doug presses the emergency stop button on the elevator causing the elevator to restart.

Feeling the elevator starting to rise up slowly making it to her feet as she glances around her surroundings looking for the nearest platform to get onto to find a small ledge coming up making her way over towards the end of the elevator just as she sees the ledge coming up leaping forward Lori lands on the ledge and spins forward as she grabs a hold of her pistol from the back of her pants before in a sudden motion she stops in a kneeling position to point the pistol forward.

Glancing around her surroundings seeing nothing but darkness in front of her other than a few small lights shining through the darkness glancing over her shoulder as she looks up to see the elevator disappearing high above slowly turning her attention back forward slowly Lori makes her way forward not waiving her aim for a split second before slowly after she makes her way down through a small tunnel and leans her back up against a nearby wall reaching down Lori touches the small device on her hand making it display the building's blueprints.

* * *

Keeping his eyes focused on the ground as he slowly makes his way through one of the top floors of the building making sure to not look anyone in the eye with his hands firmly at his sides with the occasional touch of his pistol in case he has to retrieve it quickly slowly Doug makes his away around the corner heading in the direction of his target before just as he rounds the corner suddenly Doug comes to an halt to only hide back behind the corner when he spots Cohaagen talking with Melina as a small group of synthetics stand by.

A scene that he silently listens to as his eyes constantly glance around his surroundings at every single synthetic that makes their way by him.

" He will have to come here. Find him and bring him to me. Do whatever it takes. Do you understand me?"

" Yes sir and the girl?"

" Kill her. She knows too much."

Hearing the sound of footsteps approaching leaning off the wall as he slowly heads back in the way that he came making sure to keep his eyes forward slowly Doug walks behind a few workers and guards that are slowly making their way down the hallway towards a large elevator before mere seconds later as he follows after them inside just as he turns around Doug's eyes widen slightly when he sees Melina along with two synthetics following close behind her enter into the elevator.

Hearing the sound of the elevator closing as he keeps his eyes focused on the ground below every few seconds Doug can't help but glance up towards Melina.

Glance up towards the woman that he had seen briefly a few times in his dreams. Dreams that he was still unsure about. Dreams that confused him greatly. Were they just implanted into his mind?

A question that he knew would always be unanswered. Would be unanswered due to it not being important. Those dreams were in the past now. Just like whatever their relationship had been.

And soon she would be part of his past if he was to succeed. Succeed in stopping this invasion. Succeed in stopping Cohaagen.

But first he needed to avoid her. First he needed to make his way past her and towards the upper levels of the building to the computer. The main computer that could shut down all the synthetics down for good.

With his eyes constantly glancing at her every few seconds as he sees Melina slightly turning her attention towards him for a split second snapping his head up Doug looks straight forward avoiding eye contact before just as a drop of sweat starts to form Doug breathes a silent sigh in relief when he sees Melina exiting out of the elevator along with the synthetics.

Hearing the elevator's door closing behind her without so much as looking back moving forward Melina makes her way through the floor with her eyes constantly glancing around her surroundings looking for any sign of her targets.

As she slowly makes her way through to only see the looks of confusion across a couple of the workers faces as they look down towards their shoes and heels paying no attention slowly Melina makes her way around a nearby corner before suddenly as she hears the sound of her boots splashing with every step that she takes suddenly Melina comes to a stop to look towards the ground.

With only a small reflection being reflected back towards her as a confused look forms across her face slowly Melina glances around the entire floor to see whole floor completely wet before slowly with only the sound of small splashes with each step she takes Melina makes her way down the hallway following a small trail of water.

Peeking her head through a small side room as she sees the image of a few water cooler machines completely destroyed with the coolers for water dumped all across the floor as many workers from the building slowly make their way by as a few synthetics stand near the coolers looking down at them a confused look forms across Melina's face.

Turning her attention away from the coolers slowly Melina looks over towards each of the synthetics in the room.

" Spread out. Find them and bring them back to me alive."

Rearing back as she grabs a hold of her pistol slowly Melina makes her way out of the open doorway and down the hallway with her pistol raised as she sees out of her eye each of the Synthetics slowly starting to spread out with her firearms raised up as her visors light up dark blue.

Suddenly as she hears the sound of a small cling echoing from nearby snapping her head towards the sound as she watches a small metal object rolling across the floor through the water that she instantly recognizes to be a grenade without any hesitation leaping forward Melina dives onto a nearby office table just as the grenade explodes.

Balancing herself on the table as she watches as an electrical current comes streaming through the room frying every electrical piece of equipment in sight Melina's eyes widen before suddenly as she sees out of the corner of her eye each of the synthetics starting to malfunction as sparks come flying out from their bodies reaching up Melina covers her head with her arms.

Feeling sparks coming all across her body as she grits her teeth ignoring the pain while only the sound of exploding computer monitors and equipment can be heard echoing all across the hall just mere seconds later as she feels the pain seizing uncovering her arms from her head suddenly Melina's eyes widen at the carnage that she sees in front of her.

Workers laying dead on the floor with a mixture of water and blood forming underneath their bodies. Synthetics motionless all around her with some having their upper bodies bent down. Computer monitors and electrical equipment completely fired.

Slowly sliding off the office table as she hears the sound of footsteps slowly splashing through the water snapping her head up as she sees the sight of Lori standing at the other end of the hallway with a pistol in each of her hands staring directly at her with a glare suddenly without any hesitation as she sees Lori raising up the pistols in her direction Melina leaps back over the office table nearly avoiding a round that had been labeled for her head.

Hearing the splashing slowly starting to pick up as she looks around for her own pistol to find it laying in a puddle of water a couple of feet away slowly reaching out just as she touches her pistol Melina quickly retracts her hand when she sees a round striking her pistol sending the firearm sliding out of arm's reach before slowly taking a deep breathe Melina dives across the floor grabbing her pistol to only point it in the direction she had heard the splashing.

Not seeing Lori anywhere in sight as she glances around her surroundings to not see anybody other than dead bodies and shut down Synthetics in sight taking cover behind a nearby office table slowly Melina takes a deep breathe before the sound of a ding coming from a nearby elevator causes her to snap her pistol up in the elevator's direction.

As she takes a closer look into the elevator to see nobody inside slowly Melina gets into a kneeling position as she starts to slowly move towards the elevator with her eyes constantly glancing around.

" I told you that i would end you. And i always keep my promises."

Snapping her gun towards where she heard the voice coming from before she has a chance to fire off a round as she feels her arm being roughly twisted causing her pistol to be aimed towards the far upper wall rearing back on the trigger Melina sends a round straight into the wall as she stares into Lori's eyes.

Suddenly as she feels a well placed kick landing into the middle of her chest causing her pistol to go flying out of her hands leaning back Melina flips over a nearby office table with a thud before with haste she dives across the wet floor behind another table when she hears a round striking just where she had been laying.

Taking a slow steady breath as she hears the sound of multiple heavy footsteps quickly approaching snapping her head towards the sound Melina watches as a small group of synthetics quickly making their way down the hallway.

" Find her!"

With their visors glowing bright blue raising up their firearms as they slowly spread out making their way through the floor just as they hear the slightest of movement coming from ahead rearing back the synthetics send round after round in the direction they heard the movement coming from completely shattering every computer monitor and table in sight as their bullets cut away at the equipment before mere moments later they ceasefire.

Without their aim wavering as they listen in to not hear a sound just as they take a step forward the image of Lori running across the room with her pistols aimed in their direction causes the synthetics to take aim before they open fire.

As she listens in to the synthetics open firing straight ahead as she snaps her head up to see round after round going straight through Lori and into the far end wall without so much as slowing the brunette down Melina's eyes widen.

" Stop! It's only a hologram!"

" She catches on quick doesn't she?"

Snapping up to her feet as she sends a burst shot of rounds across the floor sending pieces of electrical equipment flying everywhere to only ceasefire a few seconds later slowly without lowering her aim Melina makes her way behind one of the synthetics before suddenly she jumps behind an synthetic just in time as she sees a flurry of rounds being sent her way.

Hearing the sound of round after round striking into the synthetic's head as she peaks through a small opening to see two different Lori's running across the room sending round after rounds from the pistols in her hands in her direction ducking down as she hears the sound of the synthetic's head exploding reaching up Melina covers her head with her hands before in an instant she races down the hallway as she hears the sound of gunfire echoing through the floor.

* * *

" What the hell is going on down there Melina!?"

' **It's her! The crazy bitch is shooting up the place!'**

" You idiot! She's only providing a distraction for Hauser! Find him!"

Retracting his hand as he makes his way through a small narrow hallway to only stop outside of a sealed metal door reaching out as he presses down hard on a panel causing a small flap on a nearby wall to open revealing a small keyboard attached to a scanner without hesitating as he types in a code to only watch as the monitor displays the message of needing a facial and fingerprint analysis leaning forward Cohaagen allows his eye to be quickly scanned as he presses his thumb down on the needed spit before moments later he pulls back when he hears the sound of the locks undoing.

With a flick of his wrist as he opens up the metal door to see nobody inside of the room slowly Cohaagen makes his way inside of the room as the small group of guards follow after him before in a sudden move Cohaagen snaps around to give each of them a stern look.

" Spread out. Hauser is on his way here. I want him taken alive. Wound him if you have to but don't kill him."

Obeying the order as they slowly spread all across the room making sure to take up an advantage points that are available to them unaware to most of the guards knowledge slowly Cohaagen makes his way over towards the main computer at the far end of the room.

A lone computer attached to a few monitors over hanging across the far end wall. A massive piece of electrical equipment that takes up the back wall of the room.

Slowly grazing the keyboard as he slowly turns to look at the slightly open metal door reaching down Cohaagen gently rests his right hand down on his firearm at his side before slowly he turns to look at every single guard in the room.

Guards that he can see solely focusing on the entrance into the room. Some with their firearms firmly aimed in the door's direction. Some with their guns by their sides just waiting for any movement to come.

A sight that should make him feel confident. But for some reason it didn't. For some reason something didn't feel right. Something was wrong. He just couldn't figure out what.

The computer hadn't been accessed. It would have been impossible for him to do so. So why is he feeling so uneasy?

Slowly looking at every guard's face as he sees them all focusing on the entrance door suddenly as he turns to look at a guard to his right to see the man staring directly at him just as a confused look forms across his face suddenly Cohaagen eyes widen slightly when he sees a flicker of Hauser's face appearing across the guard's face for a split second.

" Hauser!"

In a sudden move snapping his pistol towards the guard at the far end of the room Doug sends a round flying the connects to the guard's head sending his lifeless body to the ground with a thud followed by another. And another.

As he watches Doug quickly taking out his guards with ease reaching down as he starts to raise up his firearm suddenly Cohaagen's eyes widen when he feels the pistol being shot out of his hand causing him to let out a scream in pain before as he hears the sound of footsteps approaching Cohaagen snaps his head up to look at Doug to see him slowly approaching with the pistol in his hands pointing directly at him.

" What are you going to do Hauser? Shoot me?"

Coming to a stop as he takes his eyes away from Cohaagen for a split second to look at a familiar looking piece of equipment off in the side of the room as a ghost smile forms across his face slowly Doug shakes his head.

" No. I've got a better idea."

Without giving him a chance to react as he lowers his aim and sends a round into Cohaagen's right knee causing the man to fall down screaming in pain as he clutches his leg slowly making his way over as he takes his left hand off the pistol reaching out Doug grabs a handful of Cohaagen hair causing the older man to let out a scream before slowly he starts to drag him over towards the side of the room.

As feels resistance coming from Cohaagen as they get ever so closer to the machine that started all of his in the first place in a sudden move rearing back Doug knees Cohaagen repeatedly in the head before with all of his might reaching down Doug throws Cohaagen in the direction of the machine to only watch as he smashes chest first into the chair.

Tucking his pistol into his pocket as he steadies Cohaagen up to only feel him trying to sit up rearing back Doug sends a well placed fist that lands clean to Cohaagen's jaw causing the older man's head to snap back before slowly Doug straps the older man's right arm to the chair followed by his left.

Moving away from the chair as he glances around the machine to see a small monitor attached just on the side slowly as he hears Cohaagen pulling on his restraints in a desperate attempt to break free ignoring him slowly Doug makes his way over towards the monitor.

" Hauser!?"

" You took everything from me. Now it's time for me to repay you the favor."

" Noooo…."

* * *

Letting out another round out of her pistol blindly over her shoulder as she glances quickly over her shoulder to see Lori quickly following after her just as she comes to a halt to send a round intended for Lori's chest Melina's eyes suddenly go as wide as saucers when she sees Lori leaping off the walls as she continues to charge forward at her causing the round to go soaring past her target when suddenly her head snaps to the side when she feels a well placed kick landing across her head.

Stumbling back as she quickly fires off another round to only see Lori in a swift motion grab her arm ruffly as she turns avoiding the round before she has any time to react Melina snaps her head to the side when she feels a well placed backhanded strike landing across her cheek causing her to stumble back.

Without letting go of her hold as she rears back and sends a low leg kick to the back of Melina's right leg just as she feels Melina's grip on the pistol loosening rearing back Lori sends a well placed kneel into Melina's chest followed by a kick causing her foe to stumble back a few feet as the pistol in her hands go flying before in a swift motion reaching back Lori retrieves a pistol from the back of her pants to send a round directly into Melina's chest.

Hearing the sound of a pistol going off suddenly as she feels intense pain coming from her chest looking down as she sees a bullet wound directly in the center of her chest feeling her legs giving out Melina drops down to her knees as she clutches her bullet wound with her hands causing blood to trickle through the opening of her fingers to the ground below.

Feeling her mouth starting to fill up as she coughs causing a mouthful of blood to come sputtering out to the ground slowly Melina looks up with her vision only getting darker to see Lori pointing the pistol in her hands at her head.

" I said i would end you. And now i have."

Without any hesitation as she rears back on the trigger sending a round straight through Melina's head to only watch her lifeless body falling backward to the ground with a thud slowly stepping over the lifeless body in an instant Lori takes off into a sprint in the direction of the top floor.

Quickly closing his eyes as he pictures the shutdown code perfectly in his mind reaching out slowly without opening his eyes Doug starts to type the code into the main computer as he listens to only the sound of his fingers hitting each key on the keyboard when suddenly as he hears the sound of footsteps approaching snapping open his eyes in an instant Doug snaps around with a pistol raised at the metal door to find Lori slowly making her way into the room with her hands raised up in surrender.

" What happened here?

Lowering down his pistol as he sees Lori nodding her head off to the side slowly Doug follows her eyesight before slowly as he sees the sight of Cohaagen strapped into the same chair he had placed him with his head bowed down slowly Doug turns back to look at Lori with a grin forming across his face.

" Just gave him a dose of his own medicine."

Nodding her head slowly Lori makes her way over towards Doug before as she reaches his side slowly she turns to look up towards the monitors.

" Has it been done?"

" Almost just need to…."

Suddenly as he hits the keyboard and injects the last of the kill code into the computer hearing the sound of heavy footsteps quickly approaching in a sudden move Hauser and Lori snap their bodies around with their pistols raised to look at the door to see a group of synthetic officers entering with raised guns.

Keeping their aims focused on the synthetics in front just as they are about to fire suddenly as they see each of the synthetics suddenly freeze dead in their spots with their visors going completely dark except for a blinking red light slowly Doug and Lori each let out a sigh in relief as they slowly lower down their pistols.

" It worked. I can't believe it."

Suddenly as they watch the synthetics visors coming to life radiating a blue screen with some kind of countdown starting at two minutes slowly counting down Doug and Lori snap their pistols back up before their eyes widen when they look over towards the metal door to see the door sealing shut.

" What the hell is going on?"

" We need to get out of here! Now!"

" But how!"

" The roof! There should be emergency helicopters on the roof!"

Reaching out as she takes his free hand within her own without any hesitation Lori quickly leads Doug over towards the door as she tucks her pistol away in her pants before with a flick of her wrist as she pulls on the handle of the door to only feel the door not budging Lori's eyes widen.

" It's sealed shut!"

Releasing her hand as he reaches out and starts to pull on the door to only see Lori doing the same to have the same result as before slowly as he continues to pull on the door out of the corner of his eye Doug watches Lori stepping a couple of feet back.

" You've got to be kidding me!"

" Move back!"

Snapping his head towards Lori as he sees her taking out a pair of pistols to only aim them directly at the door handle quickly Doug gets out of the way to make his way to her side before in an instant Doug watches Lori rear back sending round after round into the door handle.

As she watches each round bouncing off the handle without so much as putting a scratch into the door in a sudden move Lori slams her pistols down hard into the ground.

" Fuck!"

Glancing away from Lori as he looks over towards a synthetic's visor to see the countdown at 1:00 letting out a sigh reaching out gently Doug takes Lori hand in his own before he watches her slowly turning to look at him.

Reaching out as he gently lays his free hand down on Lori's cheek to see her glancing at his hand slowly Doug gives her a sad smile.

" I'm sorry Lori. About getting you involved in all of this. For everything."

" Don't be. I'm not. I don't regret any of it. And neither should you."

Glancing away as she sees the countdown at 30 seconds gently wrapping her arms around the back of Doug's neck slowly leaning forward Lori presses her lips gently to Doug's own for a long deep kiss before a couple of seconds after as she breaks off the kiss gently Lori rests her head down on Doug's shoulder.

Looking over towards the synthetics as he sees the countdown at 5 seconds with his hold around Lori only increasing slowly Doug closes his eyes.


End file.
